If the southern coast of Crimea is mostly resort towns and villages, then in the central part of the peninsula a tourist can see a completely different picture: there is a preserved memory of Khan’s times Bakhchisaray, and several ancient cave towns in the mountains, and many other interesting places, characterized by a peculiar flavor. One of such places is the village of Sokolinoye, where the life of Crimean Tatars remains practically the same as it was several centuries ago. In this village, which has preserved its authenticity, is now open to all travelers cultural and ethnographic center of the Crimean Tatars «Kokkoz», visiting which you can be transported to a completely different era.
Sokolinoye village is rightfully called one of the most beautiful corners of the peninsula. In its vicinity are such outstanding natural objects as the Grand Canyon of the Crimea, the waterfall Silver Streams, the beautiful mountain river Kokkozka with waterfalls and emerald baths, protected oak and beech forests, high mountain peaks — the pictures that open up here are amazing and inspiring! But it became the tourist capital of the mountainous Crimea not only for this reason.
Today, as many centuries ago, the village is inhabited by Crimean Tatars, whose community is the largest here, and whose architecture is so rich in sights that not every major city can compete with Sokolin. Based on the ensemble of traditional Crimean architecture in the village was established cultural and ethnographic center of Crimean Tatars «Kokkoz», which has become today the main attraction of this place and one of the most visited by tourists objects of mountainous Crimea.
The name of the ethnographic center «Kokkoz» goes back to the former name of the village, which it bore until 1945, and received because of the fact that in ancient times here lived blue-eyed Goths, while the rest of the Crimea was inhabited by dark-eyed representatives of Turkic and Indo-Iranian peoples (translated from Crimean Tat. «Kokkozy» means «blue-eyed, blue eye»). One of the local families became the founder of the cultural and ethnographic center, opening a museum next to the cafe of national Crimean cuisine.
Both the cafe and the museum are located in the main building of the Kokkoz Center, one of the old houses that abound in the narrow streets of Falconer. In the house and its courtyard, where the cafe works, the traditional life of the Crimean Tatars is recreated, and also expositions of household items and crafts of this people are presented. One of the rooms is an exposition devoted to Crimean Tatar embroidery, another — to carpet weaving, and in other rooms of the museum you can see everyday objects, old things, clothes of Crimean Tatars, and even try them on and be photographed in the ancient interiors, where every object is a rarity. All exhibits visitors can take in their hands, which can boast not every museum. After familiarizing yourself with the exposition of the museum you can go to the patio and sit at an ordinary table or on topchanes in a cafe, taste delicious national dishes. But this is not the end of the acquaintance with the center «Kokkoz».
Within the framework of the program «Visiting Crimean Tatars» here you can learn a lot about traditional crafts, folk customs and family traditions of Crimean Tatars, visit an excursion introducing the sights of Sokolinoye. These are Yusupov’s Palace, Ali Bey Mosque, Kutler Mosque of the XIX cc., more ancient buildings — the fortification of Syuyur-Kaya X-XIII cc., the temple of Ai-Nikola IX-XV cc., the monastery of Danilcha-Koba X-XIII cc. in the tract of Papas-Bair, as well as fountains Yusupov and Bulgakov 1910 and many other interesting structures and buildings.
A visit to the ethnographic center «Kokkoz» can be spread over several days — you can stay and live here. This is a unique opportunity for everyone who is interested in history, wants to see the most interesting sights of Crimea and get to know them better. Staying in the cultural and ethnographic center of Crimean Tatars «Kokkoz» will long be remembered by everyone who comes to Sokolinoye — it will be a truly amazing and memorable experience, and the memories of the time spent here will beckon to the mountainous Crimea again and again.